Clearing the "progressive" fog.

I have written before about the differences between the conservative and liberal minds… how they work and how the two are essentially irreconcilable (see “Differences” below). Nice theory you might say… but syndromes and hurricanes are real life examples of these differences.

Ray Rice – NFL player – beats his girl friend, who later becomes his wife. It is big “news” and every liberal talk show rolls out the “Battered Wife” Syndrome. Ray’s behavior is inexcusable. No man beats a woman – ever. But are the two victims of a syndrome? Was he compelled by some force to beat her, and was she by the same force compelled to stay? Liberals see syndromes at work everywhere. Conservatives see bad choices and poor judgment at work.

This is the sixth consecutive hurricane season where there have been… no hurricanes. This despite the annual “doom and gloom” forecasts of the Global Warming… oops Climate Change “believers”. It has gotten so bad the Weather Channel has taken to naming winter snowstorms… a practice once reserved for hurricanes. The liberal mind creates rationale to explain away facts while clinging to beliefs. The conservative thinks… s–t happens and then it doesn’t… and that variation is a natural feature of complex systems.

It must be mentally exhausting to be a liberal… maybe this explains why so many go into therapy. For the liberal mind choice and chance are not nearly as relevant as conspiracies and plots…

Or in Ray Rice’s case… It wasn’t he… it was the devil that made him do it. And for the Global Warming crowd the lack of hurricanes is somehow twisted into further proof of their pet theory. I rest my case.

NOTE: Differences:

According to research, the difference between the liberal and conservative mind is simple. When Conservatives fail or succeed they see their own choices and actions as responsible. When Liberals fail they see events, conspiracies and a rigged system beyond one’s control as primarily responsible.

Less than three weeks after the national disgrace of Ferguson Missouri…

Is there another way to describe the Press coverage and the actions of the Attorney General and the Administration?

…there was another shooting involving a police officer this week.

And unless you live in Rochester NY – where I was visiting this week – you will likely never hear about it. The victim’s name was Daryl Pierson. He was 32-years old. He was white. He was a policeman. He was slain by a black man – a long time felon – who was just two weeks ago released from prison. Daryl Pierson was on duty when it happened.

Under chilly and dreary skies yesterday 6,000 people in Rochester showed up to pay their respects to this young man. Not among those 6,000… the Governor of NY who resides a 40-minute helicopter ride away in Albany. Also not among the 6,000…

CNN and the rest of the Press – who reported the other story 24/7 for days.

The Attorney General and the President.

The Reverends (loosely titled) Jackson and Sharpton.

Just so you know, the officer’s name was Daryl Pierson. He was a good man. He was a husband and a father to two young girls – 3 and 4 years old. He was well liked. He was alive three days ago

We all learned the name of the Ferguson “victim” and his police officer “killer”. But the nation will never know Daryl Pierson’s name. As for his killer… his name does not matter and deserves no mention here or anywhere.

So let me ask you. Is there nothing wrong with this picture? Or should we all just shut up and accept as “normal” what seems like hypocrisy to me?

RIP Daryl Pierson. I will pray for his wife and children who must carry on without him.

Say what you will about Joan Rivers and her sense of humor… it may not have been yours perhaps… But grieve nonetheless for her passing for she is emblematic of a disappearing type of woman.

She was a Republican and a friend to the Reagans, she gave to charities without calling attention to her giving, she was a feminist in the true sense of the word in that she made something of herself in a man’s world with her own grit and determination.

She never punished you with her political views, nor gave of her time and money with the paparazzi in tow to chronicle it for all to see like Brad and Angelina and the rest of the virtuous Hollywood crowd (who never miss an opportunity to backhand George Bush nor be on camera adopting half of Africa).

She just showed up everyday, did her job and tried to make you laugh. She took responsibility for her bad jokes and her good ones, her good behavior and bad without blaming anyone.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Instead today we get a softer person perfectly embodied in the current Administration. I was reading an article about why a President so obviously failing is not being held to account. It comes down to the differences between the liberal and conservative minds. If you are a Conservative President and you fail… it is your fault. If you are Liberal President and you fail, then the office is just too big for one man, and there’s no way anyone could succeed given circumstances, etc.

According to research, the difference between the liberal and conservative mind is simple. When Conservatives fail or succeed they see their own choices and actions as responsible. When Liberals fail they see events, conspiracies and a rigged system beyond one’s control as responsible. Of course when Liberals succeed the world is right, as they know it should be (the perfectself fulfilling prophesy).

Thus it is not possible for Obama to fail… or to learn. The fault for his failures is in the stars, in the cards, and in unfair expectations… anywhere but where it should be… with his choices and actions.

I visited my mother in New York last week and she had a handwritten quote from George Orwell’s book, “1984” on the refrigerator… “In an age of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

And so it is this week in Ferguson, where the truth is sacrificed to political correctness. CNN, Eric Holder and the rest of the press would have you believe that it is forced poverty and racism and not the actions and choices of people responsible for what is happening in Ferguson MO… a situation that bares much more resemblance to a Third World Banana republic, than to a civilized society more than 238 years in the making.

Violence before consideration is the antithesis of civilization. Civilization is not an absolute condition, it is a contract among people to behave in an agreed upon fashion to prevent the disintegration of community. Here are some my observations about the situation in MO. I will let you think about what’s the truth.

The unfortunate teen slain here is not an innocent. This does mean he is deserving of his fate. It is merely to state that he has a crime record and drug history… and was only moments before the terrible incident involved in the commission of a crime.

In 2013 there were over 5,000 murders of black men by other black men. Where is the sorrow and the media coverage regarding these unfortunate young men? However, involve a white/hispanic person in this slaughter and it is national news. Perhaps you can define racism for me.

Take a look at the pictures of the rioters in Ferguson. Here’s what you will notice. They are well fed – in fact many overly so. Many sported iPhones and were wearing $250 Nike shoes and expensive sports team regalia. Then there is the gold jewelry and the sleeves of tattoos. I think this stuff costs money too. Perhaps you can quantify poverty for me.

So now let me ask you, given these and potentially many other observations, is the violence, rioting and the wanton destruction of other’s property the inevitable response to this incident? Or maybe was it a conscious choice of those involved abetted by identity politicians who excuse this kind of behavior more likely responsible for these events?

It’s been almost 50 years since the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and now Eric Holder and Barack Obama high-jacked Martin Luther King’s struggle for the high road of equality and responsibility, and morphed it instead into the low road of victimization and irresponsibility.

He who marched with courage and valor through Selma AL would be rolling over in his grave at the march of events in Ferguson MO this week.

Shame.

Underfunded civil service pension liabilities in the future mean one thing only… more taxes as there is no negotiating with government employees. “They” were promised retirement at age 50 with 90% of their three highest years and a Cadillac Health Plan. None of which came from contributions they made, as is the case with everyone else in the private sector. Even my wife’s pension with a private company can “go away” one day. Not theirs…

Why am I talking about this? I was reminded the other day about the arrogance for, and lack of accountability these civil servants have for we citizens who pay for all this largesse they will enjoy.

I exited the Pennsylvania Turnpike this week and arrived at the tollbooth to discover I did not have enough cash for the $12.75 toll. The toll collector requested my license and upon seeing it said, “It always Californians.” I indulged him with a smile, and then he then proceeded to say something like, “They can’t read the signs posted.”

OK. Now I am not smiling and I say. “Interesting you should say that. You know in CA we use a technology called a credit card, where you can simply pay at the tollbooth, and you can do all this without actually having a conversation with a smart ass civil servant like you.”

That was the end of our conversation. Except it is not the end of our interaction with them… as we will all be paying for these dopes when they retire at age 55 having done a job that any private company would have replaced a decade ago.

Whether you like it or not…

Last year Joe Biden (military expert and all around genius) along with his boss proclaimed success in Iraq and took credit for a foreign policy coup… leaving…

On Monday this week the President stated that the world has never been less violent than it is now. The following is an excerpt from a WSJ OpEd this week…’’

It has not been a good year for the liberal world order. Not since the end of the Cold War have so many crises erupted in so many places: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s relentless push in the East and South China seas, and the surge in jihadist violence and terror from Boko Haram in Nigeria to the religious war that now engulfs Syria and Iraq. This is not what Americans thought the world would look like in the third decade since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

By Friday Iraq had dissolved into jihadist violence and everything we sacrificed – including 4488 Americans killed in combat – to make it otherwise was rendered irrelevant.

Another week… and another foreign or domestic disaster. But at the White House it’s just another edition of Amateur Hour.

Will someone please take the keys to the car away from this guy before we all get hurt?

In the Middle Ages the toxic combination of religion and politics stifled free thought… think the Spanish Inquisition. Today it’s the combination of “science” and politics doing the same thing. If you disagree with the evangelical Climate Changers, you are a “denier” or a “heretic” (it used to be global warming… but facts got in the way of that belief).

Organic products unlike GMO crops have lower nutritional values (GMO = genetically modified foods – like the stuff you grew up with AND that made the boom in crop yields since WWII possible)

Despite this science the liberal World Watch Institute declares, …organic farming has the potential to contribute to sustainable food security while (wait for it…..) SIMULTANEOUSLY reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing biodiversity.

The trifecta in one sentence… only a liberal could compose a sentence with all those syllables… But, they forgot to mention that organics also SIMULTANEOUSLYmake your breath fresher and your teeth whiter making you more attractive to the opposite sex or… (you can fill in the blank).

When politics gets meshed with “science” you get religion… and accusations of heresy from the true believers.

But hey… all you true believers… forget those facts and make sure you buy your organic kale this week. And remember that somewhere out there cattle are happy that they don’t have to eat that crap anymore.

CITIZEN KEHOE… just doing my job.

Richard M Nixon the man the liberals love to hate is a piker when it comes to “Dirty Tricks” and “Enemies Lists” compared to the people in the White House now. Nixon in his paranoia used staff and aides to go after his “enemies. These people – in their paranoia and intolerance – use entire government agencies.

pik·er [pahy-ker] noun Informal.

a person who does anything in a small or cheap way.

This week’s agency used against enemies: The IRS

THE SETUP:

The House Ways and Means committee voted Wednesday to seek an investigation of whether former IRS official Lois Lerner violated federal law by using her power to ensure Right-leaning groups were targeted for extra scrutiny by the agency, giving misleading information during a probe of the matter by the Treasury Department‘s inspector general and using her personal email to conduct official business, which could have resulted in the disclosure of confidential taxpayer information.

In one instance… The Committee says the public “deserves a full and truthful explanation” for the actions of its ranking member, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), whose staff “surreptitiously contacted the IRS” about a conservative group that was seeking tax-exempt status — and was subjected to inappropriate scrutiny. Cummings never told committee Republicans about his contacts with the IRS concerning the group True the Vote. In fact, he has denied any such contact.

THE RESPONSE:

Today is not about Lois Lerner or the alleged inappropriate tactics she may have employed,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday. “Today is about protecting the integrity and the credibility of this committee.”

Speier accused committee Republicans of fabricating a “vast conspiracy” around a “mid-level bureaucrat who may have made some poor decisions.” “There is no connection to the White House,” Speier said. “What we are trying to do is hold in contempt a mid-level bureaucrat, and the actions of this committee won’t hold up to judicial scrutiny.”

Hmmmm… “Vast conspiracy”… These are precisely the words Hillary Clinton used when her husband was caught with his pants down in the White House. He didn’t do it, the vast conspiracy did. This is called the party playbook folks. It’s what you say when you are caught with your pants down. It’s simple… every totalitarian state – being insecure by nature – needs the party playbook. Through it, the state secures complete conformity and “toeing the party line” regardless of facts.

You need to read this week’s Charles KrauthammerWashington Post Op Ed on the nature of our current situation in regard to vast conspiracies. Click here…

If you don’t know Charles, take a moment to read him. He is a recovering intellectual liberal. He says eloquently in this column what we all know from history… Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Don’t think it can happen here? Just ask 20th Century Germans and Russians who never thought it possible in their countries.

It’s staggering to think that these people today have the temerity to use Nixon as the personification of evil. Nixon was a piker compared to these people. He never dreamed of being so audacious in his paranoia.

It’s an old proverb with origins from Mid 17th Century England. I like proverbs because they contain a kernel of commonsensical truth. They are timeless… and also not very modern.

Liberals like modern (they will tell you so)… Conservatives tend toward the timeless (thus they appear “un-hip”)… Each would interpret this proverb differently. The modern view is fences are bad because they limit and discriminate. The timeless view is fences are good because they protect and clarify.

Where am I going with this? I got to thinking about this on my drive from Phoenix to California this past weekend. There are fences that stretch the entire 400-mile distance… Really.

Why do we need fences in the middle of emptiness? I thought because “Good fences, make good neighbors”. Fences create boundaries. Boundaries foster healthy respect for others. Fences say, “This is mine, and that is yours… please don’t take what’s mine.” Fences don’t say, “You are not my friend, stay off my property”… unless the fence is consistently and intentionally breached.

It’s simple human nature… when you take what is mine fairly earned, there is a fight. When you respect what’s mine fairly earned, there is harmony. Liberals today have become fence “breachers”. When the modern idea of redistribution becomes the governing ethos, there will be a fight. It’s commonsensical. Not so for the modern liberal. They have a better way… no fences. As they say, the road to hell is paved with so called good intentions. (I could not resist :))) )

Test yourself to prove my point about timelessness. How many of the following can you complete?

Where’s there’s smoke…

The apple never falls…

A bird in hand…

Birds of a feather…

Haste makes…

Discretion is…

The early bird…

Don’t count your chickens…

He who laughs last…

Every dog has…

A leopard doesn’t…

Let sleeping dogs…

Make hay while…

Necessity is the…

An ounce of prevention…

A fool and his money…

People in glass houses…

What goes around…

Let’s hope this last one is true… as the road to hell is not a good place to be.